Session 124
Back - Next (Back to Logs) 19 Ropamont 3Y20 Limabey, Ardabeh You've traveled south from Dirasa to Seir's druid camp to pick up some items before heading to the nearby small town of Omubagi. Once there, you met Ceren, a stormborn named Wonder, and a childhood friend of Seir's named Jansaadi. When you got to Omubagi, you found it in crisis, with strange crystals appearing in the dirt where plants had turned to dust and animals were starving. Apparently there have been bandit raids that have killed members of the community and many others have fled to greener pastures, literally. Seir found out that the cause was likely behind a now-lowered barrier in the ancient city of Murias. Once you'd traveled there, you found that the entire surface of the area inside the barrier was covered in jagged, colorful, glowing crystals. All except a small area around a massive oak tree that Ryleigh said had a holy aura. A very, very old gnome with strange habits seems to be protecting the tree and told you all to go beneath it to find out what's eating the ground to save the tree OR YOU'LL ALL BE DOOOOOOOOMED! PM DM: Heading into the Center to find a way beneath the tree, you were met with a locked door with a mural that painted both the tree and the river as important to the people of Murias, so you sought out the source of the river, or lack thereof... and found a metallic wall acting as a dam, redirecting the river to the west. Protecting the wall were several metallic creatures, constructs that fought to the death. After nearly killing Ryleigh, the constructs all lie dead with one exception. PM DM: Gunnloda looks back at Seirixori and scans the area before saying, "The big'un's gonna be back. Don't let yer guard down just yet." PM Seirixori: Seir grumbles to herself, having been seconds away from plopping onto the ground. She readies a Moonbeam for when it pops back up. PM DM: ((We will suspend initiative for a short time depending on what you do.)) PM Urrak: "Fuck, almost forgot about that one," Urrak takes a moment to catch her breath. She swings her sword at her wrist, readying herself for it's return PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle walks over to the rest of them. “So that’s what happens when we try to plan,” she tries to joke. “Everyone okay?” PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh repositions herself in between Seir and Bri. After blowing out a long breath, she takes up a fighting stance. PM Gayle Silbando: ((Can I inspect any of the remaining juggs?)) PM DM: There is one dead juggernaut on the ground over where the wolf is. PM Seirixori: ((OH YEAH THE WOLF)) Seir tells the wolf to get ready to attack another metal thing. PM DM: So who's readying attacks? PM Urrak: ((i am)) PM DM: Well, technically, you'd have to be where it shows up to use a readied attack, so if you're not, you won't get to use it. PM Urrak: Urrak walks back to the rest of the group, positioning herself between Gayle and Seir PM Ryleigh Alastair: ((Ry doesn't know where the juggernaut was, so she's just standing there, looking around for it. So no readied action for her)) PM DM: Gunnloda: "Y'ready?" PM Seirixori: ((Seir is with the moonbeam)) PM Urrak: Urrak steadies her sword in front of her. "Aye, ready." PM Gayle Silbando: ((Gayle also did not see where the Jugg disappeared)) PM Ryleigh Alastair: "I guess," Ry says. PM DM: Gunnloda ends the Banishment spell, and there's a juggernaut standing under the tree. Bri's the only one in melee, so she gets an attack (15a, 15d reduced to 7). Seir gets her Moonbeam, and Gayle can fire a readied spell as reactions. PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle puts her fists up to ready Scorching Ray , but isn’t quite sure where to aim it at PM DM: Gimme those sweet sweet numbers. PM Seirixori: ((14 moonbeam go ahead and pass your dumb con save)) PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle casts all 3 scorching rays when she sees the jugg. ((27a, 7d; 10a, 7d; 21a, 6d)) PM DM: 22 Con! PM DM: The Moonbeam and the fire sizzle against the juggernaut's armor. PM DM: Gunnloda uses Path of the Grave, and it's @Urrak 's turn. PM Urrak: "Welcome back, y' rust bucket," She rushes up and attacks it with her greatsword, "I'm gonna send ye back t' hell!" ((23, 14 and 22, 10)) PM DM: The first attack almost explodes with energy thanks to the aura Gunnloda had around it. PM DM: The armor rends apart and blue goo starts to leak from it. But then it's its turn. PM DM: One of its arms misses Urrak, but the other hits for 13 bludgeoning damage. PM DM: @Gayle Silbando 7:27 PM] Brimeia: ((don't forget ancestors)) PM Brimeia: ((disadvantage and damage resistance for urrak)) PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle casts a chromatic orb of lightning at the jugg and moves as far away as she can from it ((13a, 14d)) PM Seirixori: ((19 moonbeam cuz it started it's turn in it)) PM DM: Luckily, the lightning misses the creature... or it would be healed. PM DM: It fails its con save this time! PM DM: And the wolf grabs hold of one of the arms and drags it to the ground, gnawing at the metal until it stops moving. PM DM: End initiative. PM Seirixori: ((wait lmao the wolf is gone because moonbeam)) PM Seirixori: ((I forgot sorry)) PM DM: Ok, then Bri kills it. lol PM Ryleigh Alastair: As soon as the thing is dead, Ry plops down into a seated position. Then she falls onto her back and groans, "Everything hurts." PM Urrak: "Wooo, yeah! Oof, alright." Urrak follows Ry's lead, "That was...awful." PM Seirixori: Seir immediately lies down on the ground. PM Urrak: After a moment she picks at her wrist again PM Brimeia: "What happened to 'Let's hit the thing from far away', guys?!" Brimeia sits with her arm folded and slight pout. PM Seirixori: Seir points at Brimeia, her thoughts exactly. PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh doesn't see the point, because her eyes are closed. "I moved first," she says, raising her hand in the air. PM DM: Gunnloda heads over to Seir's side, sitting next to her. "Are either of ya gonna die t'night or can I save m'spells?" PM Urrak: "They uh...moved faster than I thought they could," she groans a little, "That's my excuse." PM Urrak: "I'll live, Gunnloda. Save 'em up." PM Brimeia: "I could've made them come to us." PM Seirixori: Seir snickers and her only movement is to rest a hand on Gunnloda's knee. PM Brimeia: "I was supposed to go first and hit them with my blasty magic," Brimeia grumbles. PM Seirixori: "From a distance." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh just groans in response to Gunnloda's question, covering her face with her arm, but waving nonchalantly. PM Brimeia: "Yeah, what she said." PM Brimeia: "What's the point of spending all that time we did coming up with a great plan if we immediately throw it out the window? I don't expect things to go according to plan every time or like... ever, but we could've at least TRIED to follow the plan." PM Urrak: "I mean, I hit it with an arrow," Urrak sits back up, "So, y'know...distance." she starts peeling the bandage off of her arm, "But when a giant thing comes rushin' at ye, y' kinda lose sight of a plan." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "I moved first," Ryleigh repeats. PM Brimeia: "Ok, but my point is that we weren't following the plan BEFORE they rushed us." PM Brimeia: "You weren't supposed to." Bri just sounds tired rather than upset now. PM Seirixori: "Brimeia can hit it from father than you can Urrak, and can take a beating better than you can. That was why she was supposed to be in front." PM Seirixori: "Same to you, Ryleigh." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh sits up and looks at them, her eyebrow quirked in confusion. "When we asked what WE were supposed to do - Seirixori said 'we should all move up'. So I moved, it isn't my fault you all spaced yourselves out instead of moving together and focusing on one creature at a time." PM Seirixori: "No, I said 'we all should', to Gayle's question asking how many of us should go after them. Meaning we all attack it, not move up." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Oh," Ryleigh says. "Huh. I misunderstood. My bad." She plops back down. PM Gayle Silbando: “Next time...and there will probably be a next time. We can communicate and explain better to make sure we’re all on the same page.” PM Urrak: Urrak undoes both bandages now, "At least no one died, I guess." PM Gayle Silbando: “But hey, you’re all alive. So how bad could it have been,” Gayle shrugs. PM Seirixori: Seir groans, "Really?" PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh raises her hand again, her eyes closed once more. "I almost did. I should have paid more attention to the instructions." PM Brimeia: "Yeah, normally, I'm all for 'not dying is a great day', but we've been having a lot of close calls. Too close." PM Brimeia: "Guess we could all use a little practice on the team front." PM DM: The sun is setting. The pink sky over the Everstorm and the glowing from Murias are both obscured by the oddly green leaves of the trees around you. PM Brimeia: "Maybe we just gotta be more specific?" PM Urrak: Urrak lays back and turns over to her side, grumbling in orc PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Is other me bad with directions too?" Ryleigh asks - no one in particular - just a general question. PM Brimeia: Bri chuckles, "Yeah, kinda." PM Seirixori: "Not exactly, but she also doesn't normally plan as much... out loud." 7:50 PM] Ryleigh Alastair: "Huh. I wonder why..." PM Brimeia: "Other you is stubborn," Bri teases. PM Seirixori: Seir chuckles, "Stubborn and a spy." PM Brimeia: "Well, I guess we're all hardheads." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh sits up, her mouth agape. "Holy shit, you all know?" PM Seirixori: "If it's about a secret organization, yes." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "What kind of spy tells everyone she's a double agent?!" She looks mildly outraged about herself. PM Urrak: "T' be fair ye didn't jus' come out an say it. We kinda figured it out." PM Seirixori: "'Figured it out', isn't exactly what I'd call what happened but sure." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Doubtful," she responds. PM Seirixori: "Anyway," Seir waves a dismissive hand, "New Plan. Brimeia should be the only one to throw her face at the big guys." She pauses. "Brimeia and myself. To take the damage, the rest of you aren't built to take the hits. We really need you to do the damage thing. So you know, not coming so close to dying would be great." PM Seirixori: "I know it isn't always possible, but..." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh looks playfully offended by Seir's words. "Excuse me, look at this awesome armor." PM Urrak: "It's only possible if Ry stops wantin' t' go first all th' time, " Urrak chuckles when Ryleigh speaks up, "See, yer still stubborn. Memory or no." PM Brimeia: "If possible, I'll try to always hit them first. Probably whatever looks like it'll give us the most trouble so I can keep it off the rest of you with my ancestors." PM Seirixori: Seir snorts, "Your armor won't do shit when it hits hard enough." PM Brimeia: Bri pokes her thumb in Seir's direction. "Fancy as your armor looks, Ryleigh, your track record of almost dying is ... pretty long." PM Gayle Silbando: "I would like to circle back to how you all know about Ryleigh's organization at a later time. Not now, but soon," she says after Seir changes the subject. PM Ryleigh Alastair: "But it does do this..." she pauses for dramatic effect and says, "Is it hot out here - or is it just me?" Her armor starts to smolder, she adds finger guns for good measure. PM Seirixori: "I'm really annoyed that I'm not looking at you but I know what you're doing." She says to Ryleigh. PM Brimeia: Brimeia bursts out in raucous laughter. "That IS cool. I'm a little jealous of that, but my tough skin still beats it." She winks. PM Gayle Silbando: "It is relatively warm in dark clothing." PM Urrak: Urrak sits back up, "Ugh, fuckin' metal creeps." she undoes her hair and scratches at the sides, "Gonna need t' trim this once we get back," she pauses a moment and continues much quieter, "Gotta do a lot of things once we get back..." PM Brimeia: "So we all good? Everyone can prep whatever they need to, but I'll go first, smack the shit out of whatever looks extra tough, Seirixori will do her shifty thing and come in next, and THEN the rest of you hit whatever looks puniest as hard as you can." PM Seirixori: "Whatever heals first then the rest. But all that, yes." PM Urrak: "Sounds like a plan t' me. Jus' try not t' get flanked again, Bri. That was dicey fer a moment." PM Gayle Silbando: "I can take a couple hits but most of my stuff can go 100 feet so I'll hang in the back and fire from there." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "But what about the glass creatures? I thought I was supposed to go in first with those ones - is that still the plan... ya know... since my brain isn't right?" PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle goes over to inspect the dead juggernaut. PM Urrak: "Those crystal creatures explode. So Bri rushin' in won't work. But some magic or a bow would." PM DM: You can use hit dice during a short rest. PM Brimeia: "I can still hit them first from far away. That magic thing goes real far." PM Seirixori: Seir rolls over with a groan and pushes herself up. "Time to dig." Seir summons 8 cave badgers and gives them some instructions and then Seir herself turns into one and starts the digging about 15' away from the water to leave a barrier for now. PM Urrak: ((2 hit dice used, +20 hp )) PM DM: Where are you starting? PM Urrak: "Do ye need help, Seirixori? I have a shovel" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Wait... you carry a shovel in your pack ALL the time? Isn't that heavy?" PM Seirixori: Seir sticks her head up, dirt covering her head and nose and she shakes her head then goes back to digging. PM Brimeia: ((4 hd, 46 hp)) PM Urrak: "Not really. I can carry a lot." Urrak shrugs PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh grins, "Me too." She holds up her bag of holding. PM Urrak: Urrak rolls her eyes and stands up, "Har har." PM Brimeia: Bri snorts. "Cheater," she says with a grin. PM Gayle Silbando: "Didn't know you were such a jokester, Ryleigh," Gayle chuckles while lifting up the arms of the Juggernaut. PM DM: What are you looking for? PM Gayle Silbando: ((What the mechanism was like. If there was a power source of some sorts?)) PM DM: Give me an Investigation check, Gayle. 8:16 PM] Gayle Silbando: ((0)) PM DM: You think maybe the metal bits work together to make hurty bad. PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle drops the Jugg and walks back to the rest of the party. PM Brimeia: "Seirixori, you wanted us to find some stuff to pile around your little canal, right?" Bri calls out. PM Seirixori: Seir makes a noise of confirmation. ((I drew on your map lol)) PM Brimeia: "Okay then, up and at 'em I guess." Brimeia gets up and walks around the nearby area, looking for any debris, loose branches, and whatnot to pile around the canal. PM Urrak: "I'll help ye," Urrak walks over to where Seirixori is digging and starts piling the cast off dirt into a small wall. PM Seirixori: Seir pops back up and headbutts Urrak, pointing at Brimeia and trying to shove Urrak away from the dirt. PM Ryleigh Alastair: "I was just going to stand over there and look pretty," Ryleigh says teasingly, kicking at Urrak's odd wall, "but you're doing something silly so I thought I'd come wreck it instead." PM Urrak: Urrak nods and walks over to Brimeia PM Brimeia: "Help find some stuff we can pile up." PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle goes over and helps also find some stuff with Brimeia. PM Urrak: "Keep it up, tin can, and we'll see about givin' th' stick in yer ass a friend." Urrak laughs and grabs some fallen branches PM Ryleigh Alastair: Rolling her eyes at Urrak, Ryleigh smiles. Suddenly she claps her hands together. "Oh! I know. Let's use the big juggernaut bodies." PM Urrak: "Aye, carve some sheets o' metal off it with yer fancy sword like a big turkey!" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "What? No." Ryleigh shakes her head, looking confused. "You and me and Bri can just move it over here to redirect the direction of the river." PM DM: Ok, so who is the supervising engineer of this project? PM Seirixori: ((Seir, in badger form, with a hardhat. Lolol)) PM DM: Give me an Intelligence check with advantage, please. PM Seirixori: ((a wonderful 4)) PM DM: How many summon spell slots do you have left? PM Seirixori: ((just the one I used...at 4th level lol)) PM DM: So, you get it all set up the way you think it should go, your badgers run out of time, your wild shape runs out, you've still got some more length to dig out before it's ready to break the final wall, and the first construct you throw in the river ends up floating away a bit before one of the others grabs it. You're not going to be able to finish tonight. PM Brimeia: "Ugh. This is harder than I thought it was gonna be." Bri wipes at some sweat. PM Seirixori: ((both of her shapes?)) PM DM: Gunnloda summons food. "Come on and get some supper, y'all." PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle plops facedown on the dirt near where Gunnloda is. PM Urrak: Urrak drops the branch she was holding and walks over, "Yer th' best, Gunnloda." she takes some food and sits down. "We'll be better at this after a good night's rest, I think. We'll finish it in th' mornin'." PM Brimeia: Brimeia hurries over and grabs some food, eating it eagerly and managing a muffled, "Thanks!" PM Seirixori: Seir, once again, flops to the ground. She's saying all sorts of things is infernal. Mostly curses about not finishing. PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Such language," Ryleigh says to Seir without really thinking. "Wait a minute... how do I know words in infernal?" PM Brimeia: "It's ok, we'll finish tomorrow. We're all beat." PM Brimeia: Bri grins mischievously at Ryleigh. "Oh, she taught you some." PM Urrak: Urrak focuses intently on her food PM Seirixori: "She knew some before." Seir still continues grumbling about it. PM Brimeia: Bri looks surprised. "Really?" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Really?" Ryleigh echoes Bri. PM Gayle Silbando: "Wait, say it again? I wanna learn bad words in other languages." PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle sits up and finally makes herself a plate. "Thank you, Gunnloda." PM Seirixori: "Family taught her," Seir hasn't stopped saying it, only when she responds to the questions and then goes back to cursing. PM Urrak: "D-''D'avdidkol''." Urrak blurts out, "If ye wanna learn some Orc." PM Brimeia: Brimeia turns to Gayle. "Here, Ya'au oamo oarloakagh oac soviy." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh cautiously reaches out and touches Seir's hand. "Hey." PM Gayle Silbando: "Daaaavidikol," she tries not to butcher it. "What's that mean?" PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle continues to say bad words in Orc and infernal. PM Urrak: Urrak laughs, "It means 'cowfucker."" PM Seirixori: Seir shakily turns her hand over when Ryleigh touches it, but otherwise does nothing. "What?" PM Gayle Silbando: She coughs in the middle of a laugh. "Excellent." PM Gayle Silbando: "What does that one mean, Brimeia?" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "You're doing the best you can. You shouldn't be upset that it wasn't enough to get everything done tonight," her tone is soft. PM Brimeia: "Something like, 'Fight me, you puny maggot!'" Bri says with a straight face, still smiling. PM Seirixori: "Well I am." She manages to lightly poke Gunnloda's leg. "I think I'm too tired to move." PM DM: Gunnloda chuckles. "D'you wanna sleep right there?" 9:00 PM] Seirixori: She nods. PM DM: "Oh, Urrak, if y'wanna I can put a restoration spell in the ring now that we're restin'." PM Urrak: "Aye, that'd be great Gunnloda. Jus' in case one of us gets glitterbombed again." Urrak takes off the ring and hands it to her PM Gayle Silbando: "Well then ya'au oamo oarloakagh oac soviy right back at you," Gayle says, fake punching Bri in the shoulder. PM Brimeia: Brimeia laughs maybe a little louder than she probably should at Gayle's answer. "Uh huh." PM Brimeia: Bri gives Seir a, "what don't look at me like you haven't done it before" look and shrug. PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Are you too tired to tell me why my family taught me infernal? It's okay... if you are. I can ask Dawnbringer." PM Seirixori: "Tieflings." PM DM: She casts two healing words on Ryleigh to free up space, then casts a Lesser Restoration (2 levels, 1 spell) into it. PM DM: She hands it back to Urrak. PM Urrak: Urrak slips the ring back onto her fingers, "Thanks, Gunnloda." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh's brows furrow. "Tieflings... like... my family were tieflings?" She shivers as the healing spell hits her. PM Urrak: Urrak looks over to Ryleigh, "Aye, they took ye in. Ye were really close with yer siblings. Especially Clemency. She probably taught ye some things, and ye probably picked up th' others." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Oh," Ryleigh says, getting a far off look in her eye. "So... do you guys know why they had to take me in? What happened to my birth parents?" PM Urrak: Urrak shakes her head PM Seirixori: Seir shakes her head. "Don't know." PM Seirixori: "You had a brother, biological. Father and daughter tieflings took you in. Also some dragonborns you got along with real well." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Huh." She half plays with Seir's hand. "That was nice of them." PM DM: So you get settled in and rest. Rybringer 3:44 PM] Ryleigh Alastair: "Hey Dawnbringer..." Ryleigh thinks, there's an unusal amount of hesitancy. PM DM: "Yes, Ryleigh?" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "I know Seirixori isn't in the mood for all my questions. Would it be okay if I ask you instead?" PM DM: "Of course. You seem troubled. Your thoughts are unusually chaotic." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Chaotic?" Ryleigh internally laughs. "Am I really so different from my usual self in this state?" PM DM: "You are freer in this state without the pressures you place on yourself, but I'm referring to the chaos of your thoughts, trying to make connections between things that don't make sense to you without the context of your memories." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Ah, that. Yeah... realizing I know bits of infernal because my family were tieflings wasn't something I was expecting. Speaking of... do you know what happened to my birth parents?" PM DM: "No. You have no memory of them. I wasn't sure about this until fairly recently, but you had a situation recently that had you thinking about your lack of knowledge on the subject." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "A situation?" PM DM: "You met your girlfriend's parents." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Oh." Ryleigh's mind is quiet for a moment. "Why'd I meet her parents?" PM DM: "Let's call it happy coincidence. But seeing how much she was like her parents led you to start wondering how you might be like yours. What your parents might be like to create yourself and your brother." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Hm." Ryleigh leaves it at that. "Tell me what she's like? Rukiya." PM DM: "She is kind, compassionate, understanding. She is a good match for you. You love each other very much." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh smiles. "Yeah? It's... it's just hard for me to believe. That I'm involved with someone - romance and sex aren't my thing. Or they don't feel like my thing. What made her different?" PM DM: There's a tinking of a bell. "You ask that question of yourself frequently. You have not decided on an answer. She is the first person you've had such feelings for." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "She must be special..." her tone isn't deprecating, or with its usual self doubt, it's just curious. PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Dawnbringer... I know how my equipment works, but earlier when I took off my armor - I noticed that I'm wearing a bracelet. I don't have any recollection of it, so it isn't equipment... do you know what it is?" PM DM: "Rukiya gave it to you. She wears one as well." Her voice shifts to a warmer tone, almost like she's gently amused. "You were very worried about bringing this... ritual from your family, your history, into your present and future." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Why was a worried?" Ryleigh probably can't keep the confused look off her face, so it's likely in her tone too. PM DM: "The bracelets represent a commitment to one another. A joining between you." The tinkling of her laughter rings again. "You are still not quite sure what it really means to her, or you, and she seems to gain some amusement from the confusion... but she called you her 'everything' to her parents and it quells your anxiety." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "A commitment to one another... like marriage?" Ryleigh asks, a little surprised, then adds in a quiet thought, "I guess if we're everything to each other than that would make sense." PM DM: "That is where the confusion lies. In your family, bracelets represented marriage, but these words have not been spoken between yourself and Rukiya." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Oh. Why not?" PM DM: She doesn't answer immediately. PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Dawnbringer?" PM DM: "You are afraid." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Afraid?" Ryleigh laughs. "Afraid of what? According to you, and Seirixori, Rukiya and I love each other. We're a good fit for each other. What could I be afraid of?" PM DM: "You had long been worried that what you feel for her is more than what she feels for you, though she seems to surprise you with the depths of her love. That said, you are going to live half as long as she will, she is far more experienced in romance and love than you are, and she is... important in ways that you feel you cannot compete with. To put it bluntly, you feel unworthy... and she is not one to speak directly. She says she knows what you are trying to say and you are content to let it lie." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Oh. I-I see." Ryleigh stays quiet for a while. Then she says, in a soft voice, "You said I feel unworthy... not that I am unworthy." PM DM: There's a short tinkle. "I think both Rukiya and Seirixori would argue strongly against that feeling." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "I'm sure, but they aren't inside my head. What do you think? Am I unworthy to be her wife?" PM DM: "Only Rukiya can answer that, but I do believe you think less of yourself than is warranted." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Having no memory about myself means I'm incapable of discussing that with you. It's strange... is usual me a fragile person? Everyone seems to be walking on dragon eggs around me." PM DM: "You can be... volatile. Your past is full of traumas that you attempt to shield yourself from by creating walls and near impossible standards for a mortal, particularly one as young as yourself. You judge those who fail to meet those standards, but none so harshly as yourself. You sometimes lash out at those around you. Your judgments are not always unwarranted or wrong, but you can be... somewhat excessive in the response. And you do sometimes let your temper get the better of you." There's a slight pause. "But this does not make you a bad or unworthy person. It makes you flawed. I have had the honor of traveling with many mortals who fought for the greater good. None of them were flawless." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Oh..." Ryleigh lets go of Dawnbringer's handle. "I'm uptight and rude. That explains why the others keep telling me they like 'seeing me like this'. 'More fun'." PM DM: "Not everyone shares this opinion, Ryleigh. However, there is something to be said for seeing you the way you are now- free and unburdened. You are healing. It is a slow process, but perhaps this is a sign of who you might become once you have put what pain you can behind you." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Sorry, I didn't realize you could hear me without touching you. I didn't mean... I appreciate you answering all my questions and I didn't want to make you feel bad for telling me," Ryleigh's voice is a little ashamed. PM DM: "I usually try to give you what privacy I can and do not speak to you unless you are touching me, but with your memory loss, I did not think you would remember that particular agreement. I did not wish for my words to cause you pain and did not want to see if your thoughts might spiral as they have the tendency to do normally." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh chuckles and she's genuinely humored. "Learning about myself this way is an experience, but don't worry... it feels a lot like hearing a story. I'm interested but not invested." PM DM: "Yes, but... the thing I'm not sure your companions have realized is that there is a good chance that you will retain the memories of what has happened during this period once you are cured. I would rather soothe your future anxieties than hope that they don't come to fruition." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "I wonder if she realizes how lucky she is - your Ryleigh." PM DM: "I think she does, though perhaps not in the way you mean. She thinks herself unworthy, so any love, affection, respect she is shown, she thinks is more than she deserves." PM DM: "In this way, she would consider herself "lucky."" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "What could sh-I have possibly done to feel so unworthy?" PM DM: "You blame yourself for things outside your control. Your hands were coated in the blood of innocents, but you were not to blame. You were forced to do terrible things... and you can't seem to find the strength to forgive yourself for it." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "I want that for her... and I know it must sound silly because I'm her but I'm also not." Ryleigh internally sighs. "Do you know why I can't forgive myself?" PM DM: "I expect she doesn't think she is worthy of it. She, you, have only recently started to accept that these things were truly out of your control." PM DM: "Your creativity and capacity to find ways to hurt yourself is impressive. Pushing people away, pushing their buttons when they stay close, refusing comfort, self-sacrificing, standing in the face of danger when there are better options... and refusing to put down the burden of this guilt... it really is impressive, if bleak." AM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh sits with that, for a long while, as if she's trying to piece together a picture when so many of the puzzle pieces are still missing. "But why?" She finally asks, with some heat to her tone. "Why am I so afraid to let myself be close to people... to let myself enjoy living?" The clear frustration with herself melts away as she says, "Maybe it'd be better for everyone if I never remembered." PM DM: "Whether or not you remember is not a decision you can make. Either you will or you will not. There is no point to trying to decide which would be "better." You have your flaws, but so does everyone else... and even with them, you are loved. Sometimes it seems you are as afraid of that love as anything else. You've lost people you loved dearly and that hurts more than anything else you've experienced. You are afraid of loving others and letting them in for fear you'll lose them too, so you make the choice to push them away, hoping that it will hurt less to do it yourself, especially before it can get too deep." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Oh..." Ryleigh's voice is soft. "Dawnbringer..." she hesistates, then determinedly asks, "of all the people you've traveled with and fought alongside... were any of them as messed up as me? And did they get better?" PM DM: "Ryleigh... you are not the first to struggle with pain and loss. It is more common than you might think, especially for those who would take me in their hand and seek to use me to fight the enemies of the worlds. Some healed as best they could. Some died trying." There's a long pause before she adds, "Sometimes they do not and they allow themselves to turn down a path I cannot follow. I have had to cut myself off from them so that my power does not become an instrument of evil. You fear this as well. When you feel particularly conflicted or upset with yourself, you hold my hilt to reassure yourself that you have not fallen too far, that your flaws have not cut too deep. That I have not abandoned you." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Okay. Alright." Ryleigh sounds a little like she's trying to pump herself up. "You said I was trying to get better, so that's good. I'm not evil because then you wouldn't be talking to me and that's something. It sounds like there's hope for me, right?" PM DM: There's a warmth to her voice that makes you think she'd be smiling if she had lips. "Of course. You are far from lost, Ryleigh. You just have trouble believing it." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "I won't forget any of this, Dawnbringer. I promise, okay? I won't let you down." PM DM: "I have faith in you, Ryleigh. Try to have some in yourself as well." PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Can do," Ryleigh says with a bit of cheer in her tone. If she could wink and point in her head, she would right now. 20 Ropamont 3Y20 Morning comes, you eat the last of Gunnloda's previously prepared food, and finish the river construction. Using the constructs and some of the broken trees to really wedge them into the flow of the water, you manage to get a decent sized stream headed south towards Murias. PM Gayle Silbando: "Should we all start heading back to the place or should 2 of us stay back just in case the flow stops again?" PM Seirixori: "There's no reason to stay." Seir frowns and she stares where the water is going and after a few moments says, "So, bats?" PM Brimeia: "Aw, no dinosaurs?" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Bats?!" Ryleigh says excitedly. PM Urrak: "Are those...better than owls?" PM Seirixori: "Dinosaurs are for the ground." PM Brimeia: "Awww... but maybe another time?" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "I'm just excited to fly again." PM Brimeia: "Flying IS cool!" PM Seirixori: Seir doesn't answer Urrak, just summons the giant bats anyway. "Bats." PM DM: The giant dark brown rats with wings are summoned. PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh squeeeeees and runs to one. She scratches their head and climbs on. PM Urrak: "Aww, they're kinda cute," Urrak selects a bat and climbs on as well PM Brimeia: Brimeia hops on a bat too. PM Seirixori: "Do you want ride the bat, tor beag?" PM Seirixori: Seir gives Gunnloda a grin, already knowing the answer and shifts into a giant eagle. PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle gives Gunnloda a boost onto Seir before hesitantly getting on a bat. "There...there..." she pats it awkwardly. PM DM: "I'm not real comfy flyin' in the first place, but I trust you, sor'odko. Lots more than one of them." PM Urrak: Urrak scritches the bat's head "Wait, are these th' blood-suckin' kind?" PM Gayle Silbando: "Guess we'll find out!" Gayle yip yips her bat and starts flying back. Center PM DM: You fly back to the Center's open space, watching as the water starts flowing again. When you land, you can see that the water's just high enough to rotate the rusted wheels underneath the bridge. They squeak a bit, and shudder in their movement as though they're just getting used to moving for the first time in a long time, but they are moving. PM Seirixori: Seir waits for Gunnloda to slide off before shifting back, "Let's see about that door now." She heads inside. PM Brimeia: "Hope that did it, after all that." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh quickly follows after rubbing her bat's head one last time. PM Seirixori: Once inside Seir first takes a moment to look around the room to see if anything has changed. PM DM: As you enter, you can tell there's a big difference. For one the giant gears under the floor are moving. They seem to be wet, with giant pieces of rust being crushed between the cogs. There's also light coming from various circular objects places around the room on the walls. PM Urrak: "Well would ye look at that," Urrak walks into the room and glances at the gears under the floor, "This is wild..." PM Brimeia: "Are those just lights? Do you think they do anything?" Bri walks closer to one of the circular things on the wall PM Gayle Silbando: ((Anything different with the door with the unresponsive lever?)) PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle walks over to the lever and pulls it. 9:45 PM] Urrak: ((hold for tech)) PM DM: The lever is engaged now, and when you pull it, there's a grinding sound and then it slides down into the floor. PM Gayle Silbando: ((can I check for traps?)) PM Urrak: "Thank fuck that worked," Urrak walks over to the open door PM Seirixori: Seir just throws up her hands and makes her way into the smaller room to check out what she missed before now that what she was going to do is being done by other people. Storage PM DM: The small back room has two table full of clutter, an archway that leads to a kind of closet with shelves and more clutter, a space that's got bronze plates bolted over it, and another space that's full of thorny vines. PM Seirixori: Seir heads over to the thorny vines part to see if there's anything that sticks out on what it's purpose is. ((is it like a door or just a space?)) PM Brimeia: Brimeia pokes her head into the small room. "So, you think you can make anything of it?" she asks. PM DM: It looks like an archway full of thorns. PM Seirixori: "I'm not really sure... I wanted to make sure that I had the right door, really." Seir places her hands on the thorns. PM DM: They're pokey. PM Urrak: "Wasn't this th' door we were tryin' t' open?" Urrak points to the bronze covered space PM Seirixori: Seir points back outside the room, to where Gayle is. "That one." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh's in the main room, waiting for the others while watching the gears under her feet. PM Seirixori: Seir tilts her head as she studies the thorns. She doesn't move as she stares then she removes her cloak and passes it over to Brimeia as she heads back into the main room. "Here. You'll need this." PM Gayle Silbando: ((Can I check for any traps?)) PM DM: Sure. Investigation. PM Brimeia: "Huh? Oh, thanks," she says, accepting it with a smile. PM Seirixori: "Put it on now, it doesn't work right away." PM Gayle Silbando: ((13 investigation)) PM Brimeia: Brimeia throws it over her shoulders and fastens it. PM DM: The door starts to slide back up into place. PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh starts to walk with the gears, pretending she's standing on them and giggling to herself every now and then. PM DM: But, while it was open, you could see dust-covered tables and chairs in the room beyond it. PM Seirixori: Seir frowns as the door starts to close, "Hey- wait! Open it back up!" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Oki doki," Ryleigh answers, walking over to the lever and pulling it. PM DM: It slides back down. PM Seirixori: Seir walks through into the dusty room. "Stay there for a moment, let me see if there's a way to open it from this side." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh gives Seir a double thumbs up. PM Seirixori: Seir looks around the room to see if there's another level or anything that might open from this side. PM DM: There is a lever in the same place on the other side of the wall. PM Seirixori: "Oh, perfect. Come on, everyone, I think we have to go this way." PM Urrak: "Nice," Urrak smiles and walks into the room PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh walks into the room, following Seir like she asked. Admin PM DM: Entering the room, you see several desks and chairs, all smaller than what you'd think was comfortable, with paperwork for various things... all written in Gnome so none of you can read it. There's a door on the north wall, next to the one you came in through, and another to the east. PM DM: Both of these are normal, but small doors. PM Seirixori: Seir tries the door on the north wall. PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle will pocket some of the sheets of paperwork. Head Office PM DM: The door opens. There's a single desk and chair in the center of the room. There are also constructs similar to the ones you fought along the walls. PM DM: There's another door to the south next to the one you entered. PM DM: It's worth noting that you all have to squeeze to fit through these doors. If you were to have to move through them at speed, they would be considered difficult terrain. PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh immediately reaches out to stop Seir with a gentle hand when she sees the constructs. "Hey... maybe you should let me try the doors first? I am wearing armor and you're... not." PM Urrak: "Yeah we don't know if those things are...on." PM Seirixori: Seir huffs, "I am too." But she does as Ryleigh asks. PM Ryleigh Alastair: "That's barely a shirt," Ryleigh says with cheeky grin, and moves carefully ducks to enter the room through the small doorway. PM DM: Perception check. PM Ryleigh Alastair: ((12)) PM DM: You notice that where the cyan and red lights had been, there's no lights on these. PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh moves her hand in front of it's face. When nothing happens she calls back, "These things don't have eye lights - I think its safe to come in." PM DM: In addition to the juggernaut, the crawler, and the SparkyBoomBoom, there is another you see, one with a longer, almost lobster-like body with a serpentine body and claws on the front. PM Urrak: "I'll remain cautious....fuck these things," Urrak slowly walks into the room PM Brimeia: "Didn't we just say I was gonna let myself get beat up first?" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "You're not wearing armor either," Ryleigh says to Bri. "But don't worry stud, I'm sure you'll have plently of time to get your ass kicked in a fight." 10:16 PM] Gayle Silbando: "With this small proximity, we'd all be goners." PM Urrak: "Heh, remember Nolanos an' that fuckin' flameskull? We're lucky we weren't incinerated." Urrak looks closer at the lobster-bot PM DM: Give me an Intelligence check PM Urrak: ((4)) PM DM: Sure is shiny. Well, not really cause it's dusty as fuck in there. PM Seirixori: "If you're not going to let me open doors will you at least do it? Because I'd rather not stand around gawking at everything, we need to get underground." PM Urrak: "Right, let's keep movin'," Urrak turns away from the constructs PM Ryleigh Alastair: "Sorry, I was just making sure everyone was trailing along before opening the next door." Ryleigh does walk to the next one and opens it. Locker Room PM DM: This small door opens into a more open room with shelves and benches along the walls that are full of things- hardhats, labcoats, random objects, rubber boots. There's a small door leading to the west that likely goes back to the desks, and another large door with a lever on it to the north. PM Urrak: Urrak picks a boot off of the floor, "So small..." PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh walks over to the door with the lever and pulls it. PM Gayle Silbando: ((Is there any indication of the amount of dust to see how long this stuff has been untouched?)) PM DM: There's another grinding sound and the door slides down into the floor. PM Seirixori: Seir grabs a hardhat and sets it on her head. PM DM: You're not likely to be able to tell considering there's been no air movement or people with dead skin or cave-ins or anything. PM Brimeia: Brimeia giggles at how silly Seirixori looks wearing the hardhat. PM Brimeia: ((also i am a tiny bit confused about where we are now, map-wise)) Mine entry PM DM: To the north, through the levered door, the room opens into a large space where there's a big, 10' wide hole in the floor with rail tracks, as well as a staircase headed down. PM Urrak: "Down th' stairs it is, I guess," she tosses the boot behind her and starts walking towards them PM Seirixori: Seir cheers a little, "Yes! Time to go down." She goes down the stairs. PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh follows behind Seir. PM Brimeia: Brimeia heads down the stairs too. PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle will follow behind Bri. ((how narrow is the path?)) PM DM: So when you get downstairs, you can see that the hole was an elevator. There's a railcart on the elevator. The floors and walls down here are more grey stone, but still worked. PM DM: The stairs are a straight staircase 10' across. PM Urrak: "What kind'a operation were these gnomes runnin'?" PM DM: This room has lots of crates stacked along the edges of the room. PM DM: There's a small door to the south, another to the southern part of the west wall, and a large opening with the rail tracks to the east. PM Seirixori: ((do we know roughly which way towards the tree)) PM DM: To the west-north west? PM Brimeia: Brimeia peeks into the cart to see if there's anything in it. PM Gayle Silbando: ((Are the carts operational on the tracks or just the elevator?)) PM DM: There's a bit of leftover rock and blue stones in the corners of the cart. PM DM: Do you want to push one and find out? PM Gayle Silbando: ((how many carts are there?)) PM DM: Two here, one at the end of the track and the other on the elevator. PM Seirixori: Seir peeks in one cart and reaches for the blue stones. PM Gayle Silbando: ((how large are these carts and can regular sized people fit in them lol)) PM DM: They look like the crystals you picked up at the farm. PM DM: You could fit one, maybe two people in them? PM Gayle Silbando: ((I will not push one yet)) PM Gayle Silbando: Gayle will try an pry open a crate. PM Ryleigh Alastair: Ryleigh again reaches out in an attempt stop Seir. "I don't think touching is a good idea, Seirixori." PM DM: Some are open. Some have tools in them, others are half-full of stone or ore, and some are half-full of the blue crystals. PM Gayle Silbando: "These fools mining for those godsforsaken crystals." PM Gayle Silbando: "Probably what powers their giant killing machines." PM Urrak: "That would make some sense. Th' machines had blue goo in 'em." Urrak walks over to where Gayle is, "Crazy fuckers." PM Seirixori: Seir sighs and pulls away and then goes to the opening of where the tracks are and stares out to where it goes. "...I feel like we need a map." 10:44 PM] Urrak: "We could try'n make one, " Urrak rummages in her pack, "Might have some paper an' a charcoal in here.." PM Seirixori: "I have things to make a map. I meant an already made one." PM DM: Looking out, there's a wide hall with tracks that go north and south, and an opening across the hall that looks like this one. PM Gayle Silbando: "We can go back up and see if there are any maps within the stuff but I didn't see any the first time." PM Urrak: "Ah ok," Urrak places her pack onto her back again "So, we still goin' forward?" PM Ryleigh Alastair: "It'd be useful, but we have to make it without one. We're here for the tree, right? So let's head that direction... and hope for the best?" PM Brimeia: "Seirixori, do you remember which way the tree was?" PM Gayle Silbando: "We can take the carts, but walking to the tree might be faster," she echos the others. PM Seirixori: Seir points towards the north tracks, "It's roughly that way." PM Urrak: "Aye, walking sounds good t' me." PM Brimeia: "Let's find ourselves a tree!" PM Brimeia: Brimeia walks in the general direction Seir pointed. PM DM: You start heading north and you can see there's a big globe next to the tracks, lit magically. You can also see there are small, circular tunnels that branch off in the walls here and there, about a foot wide. PM Seirixori: "This isn't creepy." PM DM: And as you start to go forward, we're gonna need to stop here for safety's sake. lol Back - Next (Back to Logs)